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College Football

Jim McElwain gives final injury update, previews Kentucky on weekly radio show

Andrew Olson

By Andrew Olson

Published:

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On his weekly radio show, coach Jim McElwain provided a final injury update and took various questions about the UMass game and the upcoming matchup with Kentucky.

The Gators are 1-0 after beating the Minutemen 24-7, and McElwain knows there’s plenty of room for improvement.

McElwain also offered a final injury update before taking fans’ questions:

On what he enjoyed most about the season opener:

“It was really about getting the taste of way we finished a year ago out of our mouth.”

On what he’s seen in practice this week:

“I see that there’s a certain sense of energy. A sense of urgency. There’s so many things that we need to work on from Week 1. Our guys know that it’s for real now.”

On the season-ending injury to WR Dre Massey and his toughness:

“That was so tough on Dre. It speaks for him – he did on the opening kickoff and went through the whole half before he said ‘I’ve got to get this thing checked out.'”

On scoring more field goals (3) than touchdowns (2) against UMass:

“When we get it down in our red area, we’ve got to put the ball in the end zone. We left a lot of points on the field last week.”

On K Eddy Pineiro’s debut:

“We had an opportunity to break Eddy in as a kicker, and you know what, he showed he can handle it.”

On what he expects to see from Kentucky:

“Kentucky is a team that can score fast. They’re a team with really good skill. They’ve recruited really well. They’re not afraid to stretch the field and take shots. Our secondary is going to be tested this week.”

“They’ve got the talent. They’re hungry. … They’re going to come in here and fired up and probably feel good about playing the Gators.”

On Florida’s passing game vs. Kentucky’s secondary:

“We’ve got to be really accurate – not only in the throws, but more disciplined in our routes.”

On QB Luke Del Rio’s performance against UMass:

“Luke did a pretty darn good job for his first collegiate start running out in front of 90,000 people on a rainy night.”

“I thought he was in control the whole game. He never looked out of sorts. … I thought he missed about six throws. He also had four drops where he put the ball where it needed to be, but we didn’t come up with the catch. … There was never any panic on the sideline because our guys trust him. I know he learned a lot from this game.”

On the 44 passes vs. 29 runs against UMass:

“You take what the defensive gives you, and eventually they give you the game.”

On Steve Spurrier’s return to Florida as an ambassador to the athletic department:

“I’m so happy Coach is back where he belongs. He’s a Gator.”

Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier was the guest assistant coach on this week’s show, and he offered some thoughts on various offensive players and position groups:

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.

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